Investigating the completeness and omission roads of OpenStreetMap data in Hubei, China by comparing with Street Map and Street View

TL;DR

This study assesses the completeness of OpenStreetMap road data in Hubei, China, identifying poorly mapped road types by comparing with Street Map and Street View, revealing gaps especially in private and minor roads.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze specific omission road types in OSM data using Street Map and Street View comparisons in Chinese urban areas.

Findings

Most prefecture-level divisions have low-to-medium completeness.

Major roads are well mapped, but private and minor roads are often omitted.

OSM data, despite incompleteness, can still be useful for certain applications.

Abstract

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free map of the world which can be edited by global volunteers. Existing studies have showed that completeness of OSM road data in some developing countries (e.g. China) is much lower, resulting in concern in utilizing the data in various applications. But very few have focused on investigating what types of road are still poorly mapped. This study aims not only to investigate the completeness of OSM road datasets in China but also to investigate what types of road (called omission roads) have not been mapped, which is achieved by referring to both Street Map and Street View. 16 prefecture-level divisions in the urban areas of Hubei (China) were used as study areas. Results showed that: (1) the completeness for most prefecture-level divisions was at a low-to-medium level; most roads (in the Street Map), however, with traffic conditions had already been mapped well. (2) Most of the omission OSM roads were either private roads, or public roads not having yet been named and with only one single lane, indicating their lack of importance in the urban road network. We argue that although the OSM road datasets in China are incomplete, they may still be used for several applications.